The Robert “Bob” Hicks Foundation, based in Bogalusa, has joined with Iron Violet Films and Ron Collins Productions, both of Shreveport, to create an historical, documentary film series titled “The Roads We Traveled.”

The series chronicles the recollections of current and former residents of this, once turbulent, area during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

The series trailer will debut at the Hicks Foundation’s annual Black History Month Event at Bogalusa Middle School from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23. The event is free and open to the public.

The production team consists of Barbara Hicks-Collins, Foundation executive director/executive producer; Ron Collins, filmmaker/producer; and Marcinho Savant, CEO of Iron Violet/producer. They intend to film all episodes on series-significant roads and locations through out Bogalusa and Washington Parish and have already shot dozens of segments during the last two months.

“So many stories are about to be lost forever as the persons with the history of the movement continue to pass away,” Hicks-Collins said. “These memories and accounts are the real incidents that many people have endured, experienced and survived. As painful and unpleasant as it is to look at, these real stories have changed many lives forever.

“This, I know, permits me to put the experiences on the permanent record.  Its inspirational and healing.”

Collins added that it is important to use art to “capture sad, shocking and triumphant experiences, as retold by the participants.”

“It is particularly special to me, as many of the stories actually happened to my family members,” he said.

Savant said the ever-growing multitude of stories makes it impossible to say exactly when the series will be released.

“The multi-episode, series will illustrate the people, places, roads and events of that perilous time,” he said. “It is an honor to help tell their stories, though we keep discovering more stories to share. This makes a release date very fluid at this time.”

The trailer, at least, will be ready in time for the Black History Month event in Bogalusa, Hicks-Collins said.

The Feb. 23 program’s guest speakers are the descendants of Homer Adolph Plessy and Judge John Howard Ferguson, of the famous New Orleans case, “Separate but Equal” and the landmark 1892 U.S. Supreme Court Case “Plessy v. Ferguson,” she said.   Keith Plessey and Phoebe Ferguson are now working together in a foundation called Plessy and Ferguson, she added.

For more information on the upcoming event, check with local churches, The Daily News and/or call Hicks-Collins at (985) 732-7449.